A new month is starting! Let’s enjoy it.

White rabbits!!

One of my sisters and my niece are coming for a short visit. It will be the first time I will see anyone in my family since...


Cat

Next week will be 1 year ago that I had that infection on my foot which took me out of commission for nearly a month to recuperate.

Next week will be 1 year ago that I had that infection on my foot which took me out of commission for nearly a month to recuperate.

It’s amazing how quickly time flies. That reminds me, I need to have another physical exam; it’s been almost a year since my previous one.

Next week I also have a birthday!

For the last 6 months or so, I have been using a cleaning company which is run by a local woman. She usually sends two people to clean every other week. I like the women who come but I am not impressed with the owner. She is all over the place in terms of time. One time I told her that I needed the cleaners to be done by 4. I let her know that 2 weeks in advance. That day about noon, she told me they could be there about 3:30. So much for them being done by 4. Luckily I was able to rearrange my schedule. TWO WEEKS! She had 2 weeks to work it out.

One of the cleaners quit so she showed up. She didn't put things back where they were. Stuff that is obvious-when she returned the dish drain, she put the silverware holder next to the wall. After dusting a pic that is on a shelf, she put it back so the pic was facing a way that no one would see it. She has left things on the bed and left the bathroom scale in the bathtub.

I told her that I need the service next week which is not my usual week. It is just a one time thing because I am going to have company. So hopefully that is good to go but with her scheduling issues, I am holding my breath hoping it will work out.

She charges quite a bit. Then she has informed all of her clients that she is raising her rates. I figured this is a good time to tell her that I am done. I just want them to clean next week.

I know this would be good for the rant thread but this isn't just a rant.

So, one of the cleaners that I like showed up by herself. She did a good job. When she was ready to go, I said that I will see her next week. She said something about after that going back to the 2 week cycle. I told her that I was done because I was not happy with the owner. She told me that I am not the only one. She then told me that she could come on her own-without going through the owner and I can pay her whatever I want. Of course it would have to be when she is not working for the owner.

I see this as a win/win situation. I get my house cleaned for a lot less than what I have been paying and she will be getting more than what she is being paid.


Cat

I had a shorter-than-usual day at work today; shorter by a half-hour in fact. Often times, on the last weekday before a big holiday, my boss will dismiss us at 4 instead of 4:30. That way in case there’s lotsa traffic, we can get home at a decent time.

It’s just about time to turn on these guys: http://www.inthe00s.com/Smileys/4thJuly/smiley.gif

It’s just about time to turn on these guys: http://www.inthe00s.com/Smileys/4thJuly/smiley.gif


Oops. I forget. Thanks for the reminder.


Cat

Oops. I forget. Thanks for the reminder.


Cat

No problem  :)

I had a shorter-than-usual day at work today; shorter by a half-hour in fact. Often times, on the last weekday before a big holiday, my boss will dismiss us at 4 instead of 4:30. That way in case there’s lotsa traffic, we can get home at a decent time.

Today, my boss decided to let us leave the office at 4:00 again! And I got home without having to deal with too much traffic.

I am glad last week is done and now it is the summer holidays for me. I do still have to go into work as there is stuff to finish off or set up before the new school year begins.

Last Friday the Head of Biology teaching, a Physics teacher and the senior science technician left. Doing the collections and deciding what to buy as leaving presents took up too much of mental and physical capacity. Adding in a couple of last minute interviews to get a new technician (not senior) just added to the fun!

On Friday the students left at noon. We then had drinks and speeches followed by a lovely lunch. Then a crowd of us went into town for more drinks and we got pizzas delivered to the pub (very small pub with no kitchen and an arrangement with a local pizza place).

On Saturday and Sunday I was doing various Morris activities to celebrate our musicians 85th birthday. This included a procession up the Main Street of the village.

So all my sisters are coming this weekend-just for a quick visit. There will be 6 of us all together (us 4 sisters, a niece & a brother-in-law). Where to eat? They know I don't really cook-and I would be afraid to try especially with one sister who is known for her culinary skills. I figured that we can go out to dinner. Well, said sister is also a very picky eater. There is one really nice restaurant in town but it is nothing that she likes. What about this restaurant or that one? The problem is, there aren't many options in this area.

I get this text from another sister who told me that they figured dinner. I said, "Let me guess. You are bringing your own food." Sure enough Chef Sister will be cooking in my kitchen. I just have to make the salad, which was good because I picked up a lot of stuff from my CSA. Just had to buy tomatoes.

I am in the store texting with them. After I think I got everything into my small cart (should have used a big one), they suggested that I serve cheese & crackers as a snack. So back through the store I go. I like making platters so that is cool. But when I got home, I realize that I forgot to get some things I wanted to include. I could walk down to the store but it is too hot.

So now I am worried that my chef (and judgmental) sister is going to have major issues with my kitchen & my house.

As much as I am looking forward to seeing them, I forgot how when we all get together how complicated it can be.


Cat

Stressful day at work; I had lots of things to accomplish (fortunately I got them all done). Now I hope to have a pleasant day tomorrow for my birthday.

Busy few days with various health appointments.

I took Jean to a dermatology appointment on Tuesday and now she has some medication to improve/treat things (she had a diagnosis of skin cancer last year).

I spoke to my oncologist in the afternoon and we discussed the next preventative treatment. Later on I spoke to a breast cancer support volunteer about her experiences on this medication. We talked about how to monitor myself to pick up any side effects.

Yesterday I had a scan of my heart. The medication I am currently having can affect the function of the heart so I have to have regular checks. See the Sound off thread for what else happened.

Today James and I went to the city centre. I had recently picked up a leaflet about a walking tour of the various Roman sites in the city. Unfortunately the main bath house site and museum is closed for refurbishment but the rest of the walk was very interesting. The city has put up a lot of information panels, not just about the Roman features, but also Medieval and Victorian and changing cultural buildings.

We also managed to call in to the hospital pharmacy to pick up my new medication. Daily tablets for the next three years.

Stressful day at work; I had lots of things to accomplish (fortunately I got them all done). Now I hope to have a pleasant day tomorrow for my birthday.

And the day has been pleasant for me!

Btw, my parents gave me a birthday gift in the form of a new tv set - a “smart Tv” - and they set it up for me today while I was at work. (Of course I thanked them.) So now I can use it to stream certain things if I so desire. I can also watch regular tv through the Spectrum app.

We went out for dinner last night for a belated birthday celebration for Dai’s mum.

We went out for dinner last night for a belated birthday celebration for Dai’s mum.

Happy belated birthday to her.

The house is so empty and quiet now. It was great having everyone here but now...


Cat

The house is so empty and quiet now. It was great having everyone here but now...


Cat


I understand what you are saying, but you don't have to look at it that way. You can embrace the sacred silence. Silence is enlightening. There is too little of it now.

I understand what you are saying, but you don't have to look at it that way. You can embrace the sacred silence. Silence is enlightening. There is too little of it now.


But there is usually nothing but silence in my house these days.


Cat

Last minute decision to go up to the Lake District overnight. While Dai was in work today I went to Grizedale forest for a walk. I had hoped to meet up with a friend but she never replied to my messages.

I had a nice lunch in the visitor centre cafe. I drove back to fetch Dai from work and had some time to kill so wandered around TK Max and a nearby charity shop. On the way home we stopped in Lancaster for dinner.

So, my work is still going along quite well. My boss began a vacation trip today; she’s gonna be away through next Thursday (she will return to the office on Friday the 26th). This is a reminder to myself that I still need to take some vacation time.

Got home late today (6pm PDT) due to a brush fire that was affecting traffic on highway 101 through Newbury Park. I got off the freeway when traffic started to get heavy and took a long detour. The important thing is that I got home safely.

The “CrowdStrike incident” seems to have affected my work computer; I was unable to get on it at all today. When I got into my office I noticed the problem, so I called the tech support line, where I heard a prerecorded message about bluescreen errors affecting many computers in the network. Still, I reported my issue to the person who answered my call, and I was told that it would take a while to fix, and that the issue was being worked on.

I just hope that come Monday, I can do my work.

This week we are in South Wales for a big orienteering event. We drove down on Saturday, yesterday we were at a nearby area of sand dunes and today we went inland to the Brecon Beacons. Same thing again tomorrow and then a rest day.

James has come with us but is doing shorter courses because he has a knee injury. Jean is also here and we have recruited some family and friends to visit/take her out for lunch etc while we are off doing our thing.

Starting to work on the garage. Last week I bought shelves. Yesterday, my neighbor helped me put the up. I just got a bunch of new bins that I have to bring out to the garage to fill them up and put them on the new shelves.

My neighbor also helped me bring things down crom the attic. I really don't want to keep things up there because I am afraid they will become lunch for some little critter or two. Now, I have to find them homes.

My neighbor put the old crappy metal shelves out in front with a free sign. They are now gone. YAY!!!


Cat

The “CrowdStrike incident” seems to have affected my work computer; I was unable to get on it at all today. When I got into my office I noticed the problem, so I called the tech support line, where I heard a prerecorded message about bluescreen errors affecting many computers in the network. Still, I reported my issue to the person who answered my call, and I was told that it would take a while to fix, and that the issue was being worked on.

I just hope that come Monday, I can do my work.

The problem was still persisting throughout the day today. Again I called IT; they were doing their best to assist all impacted users. Ultimately I called our local tech guy; he came to the office and tried something, but it didn't work because he needed one piece of information...which I'm gonna have to get from IT, so I'm gonna do that first thing in the morning.

The problem was still persisting throughout the day today. Again I called IT; they were doing their best to assist all impacted users. Ultimately I called our local tech guy; he came to the office and tried something, but it didn't work because he needed one piece of information...which I'm gonna have to get from IT, so I'm gonna do that first thing in the morning.


Good news: this morning, the problem was resolved! :)

I found out that next week, I am going to have some of the high school football players to help me straighten out the garage and clean out the basement. I chose the day because my step son said he was available. Now he says he has another commitment. I was hoping for another adult. I will have my neighbor who will help.

Tomorrow, I have to order a dumpster. I also have to figure out a game plan-what goes where.

So once that is done, then I get to hire the people to address the basement. (Cha-ching! Cha-ching!) And that should be done this fall or winter. Hopefully getting rid of the moisture, my heating bill will be lower.


Cat

The problem was still persisting throughout the day today. Again I called IT; they were doing their best to assist all impacted users. Ultimately I called our local tech guy; he came to the office and tried something, but it didn't work because he needed one piece of information...which I'm gonna have to get from IT, so I'm gonna do that first thing in the morning.


I bet you really annoyed the IT people by keep calling them. It was a problem started by something outside their control. They were fixing things in order of priority and you were not top of the list.

I bet you really annoyed the IT people by keep calling them. It was a problem started by something outside their control. They were fixing things in order of priority and you were not top of the list.


I don’t think I “annoyed” them at all. They were well aware of the CrowdStrike crisis and the fact that a multitude of PCs were affected by it. And besides, my issue got resolved on Tuesday morning; plus, the guy who took my call even remoted into my workstation to make sure that the file(s) causing the BSOD were gone.

Yesterday, my boss returned to the office after being away for a week and a half. I wondered if her computer was affected as well; when I got into the office that morning to greet her, she was on the phone, so I got the idea that it might have been affected. She was able to get back up and running.

I don’t think I “annoyed” them at all. They were well aware of the CrowdStrike crisis and the fact that a multitude of PCs were affected by it. And besides, my issue got resolved on Tuesday morning; plus, the guy who took my call even remoted into my workstation to make sure that the file(s) causing the BSOD were gone..


Even if you don’t think you annoyed them by calling again I still think it was an unnecessary thing to do. You had reported a fault, you knew what it was most likely caused by, and that multiple systems could be affected, but you still thought your problem took priority. This is how it looks to me anyway. However I also realise that you will disagree with this, and being unable to do your work, even though it wasn’t your fault, will have bothered you a lot.

Came home yesterday after a week in a cottage in South Wales. The cottage was exactly what we needed - all on one level, small but adequate kitchen and a hot tub. It meant we could leave Jean without worrying how she was getting around the place.

We had a good week orienteering (except for Thursday which had mist and rain, making navigating difficult). I finished mid-table in my age group which I am happy with.

Today we have a family gathering at my brother’s new house.

Even if you don’t think you annoyed them by calling again I still think it was an unnecessary thing to do. You had reported a fault, you knew what it was most likely caused by, and that multiple systems could be affected, but you still thought your problem took priority. This is how it looks to me anyway. However I also realise that you will disagree with this, and being unable to do your work, even though it wasn’t your fault, will have bothered you a lot.

You’re right, I do disagree with part of this. But it doesn’t matter now because it got resolved last Tuesday morning and I have been able to do all my work since then.

Tomorrow morning when I get into the office, I’m going to be especially busy because the end of the month is coming up quickly, and that’s always a busy time for my office. (So busy that we usually need three days to take care of everything. But I can handle it well.)

Went through a bunch of the boxes from the attic-including on that held my old uniforms. They are now in bins. I also did a little work in the garage. Hopefully the garage & basement will be done on Tuesday when I have muscle.


Cat

Found out will only have 2 workers tomorrow. Hopefully it will be enough to getthe job done.


Cat

Tomorrow morning when I get into the office, I’m going to be especially busy because the end of the month is coming up quickly, and that’s always a busy time for my office. (So busy that we usually need three days to take care of everything. But I can handle it well.)

I didn't have as many things to take care of as I originally anticipated; still, I got things done in a timely manner, so that we could start our end-of-month procedures today.

I didn't have as many things to take care of as I originally anticipated; still, I got things done in a timely manner, so that we could start our end-of-month procedures today.

And today we got everything done for the month, with an hour or so to spare!

I also found out that my newest workmate, Joe, who joined us in late August of last year, has a birthday this Saturday!